The Future Of What Podcast
A Podcast About the State of the Music Industry
Founded by Music Biz President Portia Sabin as a way to educate musicians on the realities of the music business, The Future of What Podcast has become a forum where significant voices in our industry discuss important issues of the day. Check out our backlog of episodes below, and access the show wherever you listen to podcasts!
September 8, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #301 — 100 Years of the Jukebox and What Comes Next: A Conversation with AMI Entertainment’s Tommy Moreno
The jukebox has existed as a catalyst for communal music discovery for nearly a century, with the anniversary of AMI Entertainment’s production of the first coin-operated jukebox coming up in 2027. To celebrate, we spoke with AMI CEO Tommy Moreno about the company’s rich history & innovations, as well as the pros & cons of the jukebox’s evolution into a digital format. Tommy also spotlights how AMI is continuing to evolve & bolster the industry by delivering more royalties on a per-play basis compared to streaming platforms and transforming their app into a more gamified,... Click Here To Listen
August 31, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #300 — mtheory’s Cameo Carlson on the Chinese Reality Show That Launched Mickey Guyton Overseas
To be a successful artist management team means to be willing to think outside the box, which is just what mtheory CEO Cameo Carlson and team have done with artist Mickey Guyton, a Country singer who did not have traditional revenue lines in place like touring or radio. In this episode, Cameo recounts the story of how a C2C Festival appearance in London led to Mickey placing second on China’s The Singer, and the massive Chinese fanbase and tour that followed.... Click Here To Listen
August 25, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #299 — The Small Ticket Add-On Making a Huge Difference: A Chat with PLUS1’s Marika Anthony-Shaw
PLUS1 has raised just about $40 million for over 1,200 nonprofits, with their keystone project being a small add-on of $1 per concert ticket to be donated to a charitable organization of an artist’s choice. The idea grew out of founder Marika Anthony-Shaw reading a book about Paul Farmer – founder of the organization Partners in Health – while touring with Arcade Fire, leading the band to support the nonprofit for several years. For the other artists and bands who have the desire to give back in this way,... Click Here To Listen
August 11, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #298 — Connecting The Industry’s Most Important Assets: How Openstage Nurtures the Artist-Fan Relationship
The artist-fan relationship is arguably one of the most important in our industry, yet it is often undermined – management of each different aspect is often spread across platforms, and artist websites & channels are usually underutilized as connection points. Rob Sealy noticed this discrepancy and, with no prior experience in the music industry, co-founded Openstage to pull fans into owned channels that create an immersive, personalized experience for fans of artists at all stages of their career.... Click Here To Listen
July 28, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #297 — It Takes a Village: A Conversation on DEI with The Orchard’s Naledi Nyahuma Seck
Fostering equity and inclusion is a collective effort — and though DEI roles have taken a hit in our industry, the experts and community leaders are still out there. During Music Biz 2026, Naledi Nyahuma Seck, VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Orchard, joined us to discuss this tumultuous stage and potential for the future, zoning in on the importance of supporting diversity in the music ecosystem at large. She also speaks on her role and the responsibilities it entails,... Click Here To Listen
July 14, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #296 — How Secretly Found Success by Sticking to Their Indie Roots: An Interview with Shelly Worcel!
Secretly has seen the industry go through many changes, and with it so has Shelly Worcel, who went from intern to Director of Global Physical Account Strategy during her 14 years at their distribution arm. Though the company has grown exponentially over the years, they still maintain their independent mindset – remaining flexible and willing to experiment without jumping ship during times of change, like the transition from physical to digital, the shift away from radio,... Click Here To Listen
July 7, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #295 — Rock Paper Scissors, Inc’s Dmitri Vietze on Music Marketing, Tech, and Times of Change
Dmitri Vietze describes working in PR & marketing in the music industry as a rollercoaster on top of another rollercoaster, given the constant transition in both industries. In this podcast episode, we gain insight into this experience from Dmitri, who runs Rock Paper Scissors, Inc., a PR firm representing music tech companies and organizes the Music Tectonics Conference every year. Throughout the interview, he describes his transition from artist PR to tech PR, how AI music compounds an already flawed attribution process,... Click Here To Listen
June 30, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #294 — The Past, Present & Future of Music Legislation: Hear from Fox Rothschild LLP’s Cynthia Katz & Heidy Vaquerano!
Precedent shapes legislation. In our industry’s current era of change – defined by issues ranging from AI usage to increased artist autonomy – these precedents are challenged to pave the way for the potential of new rulings. During Music Biz 2026, Cynthia Katz & Heidy Vaquerano of Fox Rothschild LLP gave us a glimpse beyond the glamorous exterior of music law, starting with how they got into the field and diving deeper into artist protection against cannibalistic AI (while also recognizing its revenue-generating iterations),... Click Here To Listen
June 16, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #293 — How Roblox Is Shaping Next-Gen Music Discovery: A Conversation with Allison Moore of Splash
Music can be discovered anywhere – and for today’s youth, gamified experiences on platforms like Roblox have opened doors for discovering and engaging with a wide range of new music. Splash Music’s Roblox game draws in 2-3 million monthly users, establishing itself as the biggest Roblox stage. This episode recorded at Music Biz 2026 features Splash’s Allison Moore, who speaks on the power of virtual spaces & connection. Here, she discusses what Splash’s Roblox game offers,... Click Here To Listen
June 3, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #292 — Tech & Music: The Hits and Misses of our Industry with Revelator’s Ahuvah Berger-Burcat!
Before her start at Revelator four years ago, Ahuvah Berger-Burcat spent two decades in the tech & cybersecurity space. With this, she brings a unique perspective to the music industry and how it compares – from her perspective, we foster an interconnected community but lack regulations on the tech front. In this chat recorded at Music Biz 2026, Ahuvah touches on the importance of the MFFA, the evolution of the web that naturally led to the age of AI,... Click Here To Listen
